Registration for the Medicare meaningful use EHR incentive program will begin January 3, according to a notice from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. CMS did not provide a link to a registration form, instead pointing interested professionals and hospitals to information on its incentive program site, where the link will be published. [updated January 3: The registration and attestation site is now live.] In addition,...

A congressional clarification bill passed December 7 has effectively exempted physicians from the Red Flags Rule. Whether hospitals are exempt from the rule’s requirements to maintain an identity theft prevention program is unclear.

The Office of the National Coordinator has requested public comment on a December 2010 report from the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. The council was created to examine the direction of current federal health IT initiatives and make recommendations to the administration on realizing health IT’s “full promise.” The council makes six recommendations in total, including a call for federal leadership to speed...

Important differences exist in advance directives, the legal documents that authorize an individual to manage another person’s healthcare. Only some grant access to another person’s medical records, and that can change with time.